Modular weapons locker

ABSTRACT

A storage locker for storing firearms of different sizes is disclosed. The storage locker consists of a housing having a back wall, side walls, a top, a bottom and an open front defining an interior. An inner door is pivotally attached to the housing and pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the inner door closes off the open front. The locker has a lock for locking the inner door in its closed position. The locker has a mounting wall attached to the housing inside the interior, the mounting wall having a plurality of first apertures evenly spaced along a front face of the mounting wall. The locker also has a plurality of firearm mounting racks, each rack having a mounting member with tab portions for mounting to the mounting wall by hanging the tabs on the apertures.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to lockers for locking up firearms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many organizations such as the military, police or other paramilitary organizations must store a quantity of weapons and firearms on premises. In order to maintain a safe environment and to comply with various gun control laws, it is usually required that the firearms be stored in a secure gun locker. Various gun lockers are available on the market. They generally include a cabinet with a locking door and one or more supports for holding the firearms. While these gun cabinets are useful in storing and safeguarding dangerous weapons, they are often awkward to use since different sized weapons cannot often be stored in a single cabinet. Also, they cannot provide a quick means of visually inspecting the weapons without opening the cabinet and therefore “un-securing” the weapons. This makes taking an inventory of weapons more difficult. An improved weapons locker which permits neat and easy storing of a variety of different weapons and which makes weapons inspection easy is therefore required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a storage locker for storing firearms of different sizes is disclosed. The storage locker consists of a housing having a back wall, side walls, a top, a bottom and an open front defining an interior. An inner door is pivotally attached to the housing and pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the inner door closes off the open front. The locker has a lock for locking the inner door in its closed position. The locker has a mounting wall attached to the housing inside the interior, the mounting wall having a plurality of first apertures evenly spaced along a front face of the mounting wall. The locker also has a plurality of firearm mounting racks, each rack having a mounting member with tab portions for mounting to the mounting wall by hanging the tabs on the apertures.

With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. is an isometric view of a weapons storage locker system made in accordance with the invention in its fully opened position.

FIG. 2. is an isometric view of the back wall portion of the weapons storage locker shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3. is an isometric view of the inner door portion of the weapons storage locker shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4. is an isometric view of a gun stock rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5. is an isometric view of an alternate embodiment of a gun stock rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 a. is an isometric view of a gun barrel rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 b. is an isometric view of a gun barrel rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of an item storage rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of an item storage rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the floor portion of the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 a is an isometric view of a horizontal gun stock rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 b is an isometric view of a horizontal gun barrel rack for use in the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is an exploded view of an vertical barrel rack being attached to the back wall portion of the storage locker system shown in FIG. 1.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, the present invention is a modular storage locker or safe for storing and securing firearms and weapons. The storage locker, shown generally as item 10, consists of a strong rigid steel housing 12 having interior 13, side walls 14, back wall 16, top wall 18, bottom 20 and open front 22. Open front 22 is provided with door 24 which is pivotally attached to side wall 14 and is dimensioned and configured to close off open front 22 when the door is pivoted into a fully closed position. Door 24 should be provided with a locking mechanism 25 for locking the door closed. Several suitable locking mechanisms are available on the market. Door 24 consists of two separate doors, namely outer door 26 and inner door 28. Both outer door 26 and inner door 28 are pivotally attached to housing 12 to permit the doors to be swung between an open and closed position. Outer door 26 is preferably configured as a solid sheet, which when locked in its closed position, prevents any entry into housing 12. Inner door 28 is preferably a screen door which is made sufficiently strong to prevent forced entry into housing 12 when the inner door is locked closed, but which has numerous small openings permitting a visual inspection of the contents of housing 12 when the outer door is opened.

Within housing 12 is bottom rest 34 and mounting wall 30. Bottom rest 34 is mounted within housing 12 above bottom 20. Mounting wall 30 has numerous mounting apertures 32 which permit the mounting of various brackets and racks to the mounting wall. Numerous racks and brackets are attached to mounting wall 30 such as vertical gun stock rack 36, horizontal gun racks 38 and 39, vertical barrel racks 40 a and 40 b and brackets 42. As more particularly explained later in the application, the various brackets and racks are simply mounted to mounting wall 30 by mounting screws. This makes it easy to re-arrange the position and orientation of the various racks and brackets in order to tailor the storage locker for a particular assortment of firearms.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, a typical rack or bracket for mounting in the locker will have a vertical wall 44 for mounting to the mounting wall of the locker. Vertical wall 44 will have upper tab 46 and lower tab 48 and aperture 50 positioned between tabs 46 and 48. As better seen in FIG. 11, bracket 40 a may be attached to mounting wall 30 by simply positioning tabs 46 and 48 within apertures 32 in order to hang the bracket to the mounting wall. Tabs 46 and 48 cling to lower lips 39 of apertures 32. Aperture 50 is positioned between tabs 46 and 48 so as to align with apertures 35 on mounting wall 30, thereby permitting vertical wall 44 to be secured to mounting wall 30 by mounting screw 52 which screws into apertures 50 and 35. This makes mounting a bracket to mounting wall 30 very simple. Apertures 32 and 35 are equally spaced along mounting wall 30, therefore any type of bracket or rack component may be attached to the mounting wall provided the bracket or rack component has a corresponding pair of tabs and a centrally positioned aperture.

Referring now to FIG. 2, mounting wall 30 consists of a flat sheet of steel having a surface 41 upon which are formed a series of parallel rows of equally spaced apart apertures 32 and 35. Brackets 33 permit mounting wall 30 to be mounted to back wall 16 of housing 12 (see FIG. 1).

Referring now to FIG. 3, inner door 28 is preferably formed from a steel sheet 43 mounted within frame 45. Steel sheet 43 has a plurality of apertures 47 formed thereon to transform the sheet into a strong screen. Apertures 47 are dimensioned to be too small to insert a finger or small object, but large enough to permit a user to visually inspect what is on the other side of the screen. Frame 45 should be provided with a lock mechanism 25 for securely locking the screen door in place.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a vertical gun stock rack for use with the weapons storage locker will consist of a flat horizontal sheet 49 having webs 54. Sheet 49 and webs 54 attach to a back vertical wall 56. As in all the other racks to be used with the weapons storage locker, vertical wall 56 has tabs 58 and 60 and apertures 62. Sheet 49 has a plurality of gun stock retaining grooves 51 dimensioned and configured to receive the stock portion of a rifle or shot gun (not shown). Sleeves 52 may be mounted within grooves 51 to protect the gun stock.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an alternate vertical gun stock rack 64 is shown. Gun stock rack 64 has flat sheet 66 with grooves 67 formed thereon. Sheet 66 is mounted to vertical wall 70 by web portions 68. Vertical wall 70 has a plurality of tabs 72 and 74 and apertures 76. Rack 64 is provided with floor board 78 which is mounted to sheet 66. Grooves 67 are dimensioned to receive the stock portions of a short rifle or shot gun (not shown) and floor board 78 forms a rest upon which the butt of the rifle or shot guns (not shown) may rest. Rack 64 is particularly useful for use with shorter length rifles or shot guns which are to be stored in a vertical orientation.

Referring back to FIGS. 6 a and 6 b, gun barrel racks 40 a and 40 b should be used if rifles or shotguns are to be stored vertically in the weapons locker. Racks 40 a and 40 b have brackets 80 and 82, respectively, with grooves 84 formed thereon. Grooves 84 are dimensioned to receive the gun barrel portion of a rifle or shot gun (not shown). Sleeves 86 may be provided to prevent damage to the gun barrel.

Referring now to FIG. 7, bracket 42 may be used to store handguns (not shown) or ammunition (not shown) in the weapons locker. Bracket 42 consists of a housing 86 attached to vertical wall 88. Vertical wall 88 has tabs 90 and 92 and apertures 94. Housing 86 is dimensioned to receive the items to be stored. Similarly, FIG. 8 shows a different sized storage bracket 96 having housing 98 attached to vertical wall 100. Tabs 102 and 104 and aperture 106 are formed on vertical wall 100. Housing 98 is dimensioned to receive the item to be stored (not shown).

Referring now to FIG. 9, a sliding shelf unit 106 may also be mounted within the weapons locker. Shelf unit 106 consists of a shelf 108 slidingly attached to mounting brackets 110 and 112 my means known generally in the art. Brackets 110 and 112 have vertical walls 114, upon which are formed tabs 116 and apertures 118.

Referring now to FIGS. 10 a and 10 b, it is often necessary to store shorter rifles or shot guns (not shown) in a horizontal orientation. Racks 38 and 39 are used to store fire arms in a horizontal orientation. Gun stock rack 39 consists of a flat sheet of steel 120 having grooves 124 formed thereon. Sheet 120 is mounted to vertical wall 130 which has tabs 132 and 134 formed thereon. Grooves 124 are dimensioned to receive the stock or butt portion of the firearm (not shown). Sleeves 126 are provided to protect the firearm. Rack 38 is formed from sheet 136 which has grooves 138 formed thereon. Sheet 136 is mounted to vertical wall 142 which has tabs 144 and aperture 146. Vertical wall and sheet 136 may be made from a single piece of metal. Grooves 138 are dimensioned to receive the barrel portion of the firearm. Grooves 124 on sheet 120 and grooves 138 on sheet 136 are dimensioned and configured such that grooves 124 are aligned with grooves 138 when the racks are mounted within the weapons locker. The firearms (not shown) are stored horizontally within the racks by placing the firearms with the aligned grooves.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the combination of mounting wall 30 with multiple racks and brackets permits the user to design the storage configuration of the weapons locker. By simply re-positioning the racks and brackets, the storage locker can be configured to securely hold a variety of different sized weapons in both a horizontal and vertical orientation. The configuration can easily and quickly be changed simply by re-positioning the racks and brackets as the need arises. The locking inner door 28 also permits the storage locker to be securely locked while at the same time allowing for a visual inspection of the locker contents. This is particularly important since it allows for a quick visual inspection without leaving the weapons unsecured or unlocked.

A specific embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed; however, several variations of the disclosed embodiment could be envisioned as within the scope of this invention. It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. A storage locker for storing a plurality of different sized firearms comprising: a) a housing having a back wall, side walls, a top, a bottom and an open front defining an interior; b) an inner door pivotally attached to the housing and pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the inner door closes off the open front; c) a lock for locking the door in a closed position; d) a mounting wall attached to the housing inside the interior, the mounting wall having a plurality of first apertures evenly spaced along a front face of the mounting wall; e) a plurality of firearm mounting racks, each rack having a mounting member with tab portions for mounting to the mounting wall by hanging the tabs on the apertures.
 2. The storage locker of claim 1 further comprising an outer door mounted to the housing, the outer door pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the outer door closes off the open front, the inner door being mounted to the housing between the outer door and the open front.
 3. The storage locker of claim 2 wherein the mounting member comprises a flat wall, the tabs being formed on the mounting members of the racks, the tabs being dimensioned and configured to fit in the apertures and the mounting members being dimensioned and configured such that a portion of the mounting members of the bracket lies flat against the front face of the mounting wall when the rack is mounted to the mounting wall.
 4. The storage locker of claim 3 wherein the mounting member has at least one pair of tabs and an aperture positioned between the tabs, and wherein the mounting wall has a plurality of second apertures, each second aperture positioned between two first apertures, the second apertures of the mounting wall being positioned relative to the first apertures such that the second apertures of the mounting wall are aligned with the apertures of the mounting member when the mounting member is mounted to the mounting wall, and further comprising a mounting screw for firmly mounting the rack to the mounting wall by screwing through the racks aperture and the corresponding second aperture of the mounting wall.
 5. A storage locker for storing a plurality of firearms of different sizes comprising: a) a housing having a mounting wall, the mounting wall having a plurality of mounting elements, b) a plurality of mounting racks for mounting the firearms to the back wall, the mounting racks each having a mounting member releasably mountable to the mounting elements of the mounting wall, c) the mounting racks being selectively mountable to the mounting wall to accommodate the firearms of different sizes in a plurality of vertical and horizontal orientations.
 6. The storage locker of claim 5 wherein the mounting elements of the mounting wall comprise first apertures and wherein the mounting member of each rack comprises a tab portion for hanging on the apertures.
 7. The storage locker of claim 6 wherein the apertures are evenly distributed along the mounting wall.
 8. The storage locker of claim 7 wherein the housing has a back wall, side walls, a top, a bottom, an open front defining an interior, an inner door pivotally attached to the housing and pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the inner door closes off the open front, a lock for locking the door in a closed position and wherein the mounting wall is attached to the housing inside the interior.
 9. The storage locker of claim 8 further comprising an outer door mounted to the housing, the outer door pivotally movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the outer door closes off the open front, the inner door being mounted to the housing between the outer door and the open front.
 10. The storage locker of claim 9 wherein the mounting wall has a front face and wherein each of the mounting member of each rack comprises a wall having the tab, the tab being configured to fit in the aperture, the wall of the mounting member being dimensioned and configured to lie flat against the front face of the mounting wall when the rack is mounted to the mounting wall.
 11. The storage locker of claim 10 wherein the mounting member has at least one pair of tabs and an aperture positioned between the tabs, and wherein the mounting wall has a plurality of second apertures, each second aperture positioned between two first apertures, the second apertures of the mounting wall being positioned relative to the first apertures such that the second apertures of the mounting wall are aligned with the apertures of the mounting member when the mounting member is mounted to the mounting wall, and further comprising a mounting screw for firmly mounting the rack to the mounting wall by screwing through the racks aperture and the corresponding second aperture of the mounting wall. 